Faculty Medal for 'on-line' graduate
Published on 26 February, 2009
Gold Coast TAFE teacher Joe-Anne Kek-Pamenter confesses to being 'shy' and has a hearing impairment but she managed to out-shine all of her Faculty cohort.
Studying on-line from a home office in her 18th-level high-rise apartment, without being able to use the phone for verbal interaction, Joe-Anne was still able to achieve a GPA of 7 for her Multimedia degree.
Stories behind sea of faces at graduation
Joe-Anne with husband Justin, capping off her study journey
She received a Faculty Medal during the Rockhampton Graduation ceremony on Tuesday evening (Feb 24).
Joe-Anne said she was thrilled about news of the Medal, especially since her family would be attending the ceremony.
She said she had really enjoyed her time at CQUniversity.
"Whilst it has been a very hard 4½ years of study, it has been thoroughly enjoyable, and I feel like I have grown so much, both academically and personally.
"I have had a lot of fantastic lecturers who were always so helpful. As a teacher myself, this was most inspiring and always gave me something to take back into my own classroom environment."
"I would like to make a special mention of a few lecturers who made a huge impact on me: Dr Grayson Cooke, Dr Ashley Holmes, Dr Margaret Rogers, Mr Martin Francis and also the program co-ordinator Mrs Kerrie Bloxsom. Kerrie in particular has been most helpful and remains a special friend to me."
Joe-Anne meets up with her on-line advisor Kerrie Bloxsom in person
Joe-Anne said she had always wanted to progress to university study.
"Being hearing-impaired and studying on-campus was always going to be difficult for me, as I knew I would struggle to hear lectures - so being able to study with CQUniversity online via flexible delivery was fantastic.
"Studying in this manner presents no barriers to those with an impairment and puts all students on an even keel.
"As in my case, it also allows students to continue working, and I had no trouble juggling the demands of study with my role as a TAFE teacher/tutor, as I studied after work and weekends.
"My journey with CQUniversity has been most exciting and rewarding, and proves that anything can be achieved if you put your mind to it.
"All it takes is good old-fashioned hard work and dedication, plus a few devoted and caring lecturers along the way - in which there are plenty at CQUniversity.
"I will most certainly pass on what I have learned to my own students, and promote the benefits of studying online at CQUniversity to them also."
